To forsake something is to leave, abandon, or desert it. Sometimes the hardest part of life is to move forward and forsake the past. To abandon, or desert it, as if it never happened. We usually think of abandonment as a bad thing because of the context in which we use it. We hear of the abandonment of children, and wives, and now, even pets are in the media. However, if something is not right or holding us back from moving forward spiritually it should be abandoned or forsaken.
In Colossians chapter 3 verses 5-7, Paul tells us what and how to forsake our past. We are to mortify those sins that are committed through our bodies. To mortify means to put to death. Since we have participated in the death of Christ, by accepting what he did for us on the cross as payment for our sins, we need to live as though we no longer have a say in what we do. We are, as a servant, taking orders from our master. We are to control our bodies by the design and desire of Christ, not by the fleshly desires. Our will, if we are a believer, must respond in a negative fashion to the desire to use our bodies for illicit purposes. We are to consider the members of our earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed.
Colossians 3:5-7 “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time when ye lived in them.
When Paul speaks of mortifying or putting to death our members, he is not talking about physically mutilating ourselves. He is speaking of denying ourselves the opportunity to use our bodies, in a way that would cause us to commit any type of sexual sin or covetousness which is idolatry. All these sins could fall into the category of greed because greed is an overpowering desire to possess what is not rightly ours. It also puts itself on the throne of our life where only God should be.
When we mortify or put to death a particular sin, the action must begin in the mind. The mind is the central controlling agent of the body. We think, and then we act. When we are saved the desires of the flesh do not die. Habits we have before we accept Christ as our new ruler, still plague us and rear their ugly heads of desire. Recently I have given up most carbs in a quest to lose weight and be healthy. However, just because the mind determined that is what is best for me doesn’t mean my body doesn’t scream for sweets. So, how can I forsake what used to plague me? First, I make no provision for the flesh. I do not buy the things that I love, so they are not available in my weak moments. I don’t even go down that aisle in the grocery store. In other words, don’t put yourself in situations where the old man used to go. Don’t allow the temptations to be in your grasp. It is a fool who thinks he can handle the things that he enjoyed before Christ, and not be tempted. We are no match for the devil.
Romans 13:14 “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”
So, what is the simple way to mortify or kill our desires for the sins of our past? We don’t feed them. Anything that doesn’t get nourishment eventually dies!
